Women Set the Pace as Online Gamers

Although women are still slightly in the minority among global Web users, they are closing ground with men and, once connected, spend about two more hours online a month on average. According to data from comScore, females exceed males particularly in communications, devoting about one-third of their online time to social networking, instant messaging and e-mail messages compared with about one-quarter for men. Women 45 and older exhibited the greatest growth in social networking.

Women also outpace men in photo sharing and shopping, and in what may come as a surprise, gaming, favoring casual puzzle, card and board games. Female gamers over 55 spend the most time online gaming of any demographic by far and are nearly as common as the most represented group, males 15 to 24.

Women are not immune to the less savory precincts of the Web, either. They are nearly as likely as men to visit gambling sites, and while nearly half of men frequent sex-themed sites, over one-third of women do as well.

“Unlike the earlier days of the Internet, women today exhibit many behaviors that are perhaps surprisingly similar to their male counterparts,” said Andrew Lipsman, senior director of industry analysis at comScore.